CBI searches 19 premises in reference to alleged unlawful import of nuts

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday carried out searches at 19 premises in Mumbai, Nagpur and Ahmedabad in reference to a case of alleged unlawful import of hazardous betel nuts, areca nuts and rotten nuts by evading customs responsibility.
The CBI has alleged this has induced a “huge loss” to the federal government, amounting to round Rs 15,000 crore yearly.
The investigating company mentioned that on March 5, it registered a case in opposition to unknown customs officers and personal individuals following an order issued by the Bombay High Court in February directing a CBI investigation into the matter.

The CBI has additional alleged that merchants in connivance with the general public servants have “indulged in smuggling of substandard Betel Nuts/Areca Nuts of Indonesian origin and falsely claimed the same to be originating from the SAARC members countries, on the basis of fake certificates of origin, bogus & undervalued bills/invoices and forged clearance certificates and thus causing evasion of customs duty”.
The FIR lodged by CBI said these nuts are being imported and declared as cashew peels to keep away from lab check and detection.

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has since 2017 lodged 4 instances in reference to smuggling of betel nuts and responsibility evasion, said the FIR.